The last regulatory hurdle for Comcast's GBP22.1bn bid for Sky has been cleared as its approach is cleared by competition authorities within the European Commission, "Sky News" reports.

Unilever has vowed not to work with follower-buying influencers and has called on the rest of the digital marketing industry to follow suit, "Campaign" reveals.

"Campaign" reveals that entries to this week's Cannes Lions are down a fifth, largely due to Publicis Groupe announcing it was not entering and a restructuring of the awards, which has seen the number of subcategories reduced.

"The Guardian" is reporting on what appears to be a direct challenge to Facebook from Snapchat. The paper claims Snapchat is about to allow its users to use their log in credentials to access other apps. "The Guardian" believes this is a move to capitalise on a lack of trust in Facebook since the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Sky has told "Marketing Week" that a third of its UK subscriber base has signed up to its VIP loyalty scheme. which rewards customers who stay with the company. The brand claims the scheme was launched as a reaction to people complaining new customers were being offered perks that were not available to existing users.

Mediatel reveals how JCDecaux has launched its own programmatic network to connect advertisers directly with its global digital-out-of-home screen network.

Grolsch has appointed J Walter Thompson to its global advertising account following a competitive pitch, "Campaign" reports.

"Marketing Week" has an interesting interview today with Aldi marketing director Adam Zavalis, who explains how the supermarket set about challenging Brits' love of their favourite brands with its "Like Brands, Only Cheaper" campaign

Brits are almost at the bottom of a league table for paying for news online published in the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2018. "Press Gazette" reveals a mere 7% had paid for online news in UK over the past year, only Greece fares worse with a 6% purchase rate. The Nordic countries lead with a 22% ratio, and the US is not too far behind on 16%.

"The Times" has summed up a bruising encounter yesterday as WPP shareholders gave the board a "bloody nose" over Sorrell's severance package, which could see him walk away with up to GBP20m. It also emerged they had not inserted a non-compete clause in to his contact. Almost 30% of shareholders refused to support the company's pay report.